Paxton recently introduced an online guide designed in line with the UK government guidelines to help installers ensure that their customers’ buildings are secure and ready for a return to work following the lockdown. We caught up with Gareth O’Hara to find out what you can do to help your customers get back to business as ‘almost’ usual
The pandemic lockdown situation and what the public is and is not allowed to do is changing week by week as the numbers dictate how close we are to the ‘new normal’. At time of writing, buildings across the country are beginning to implement the measures necessary to comply with the UK government guidelines. Business owners are working out how to safely transition their people back to work, but there is some confusion.
For installers there have been a number of solutions labelled as Covid-19 compliant many of these simply being pre-existing systems re-marketed to find a new use in the wake of the uncertainty surrounding staying safe. There is clearly a difference between what your customers CAN do and what do they HAVE to do, but as an installer what could you do to help?
Fortunately, the team at Paxton has read through the government guidelines and produced an online guide giving end users and managers an overview of what is needed. As a result of this they are able to advise installers on the measures they need to focus on in order to help get their customers back to work.
As Katie Millis-Ward, Divisional Director of Communications told us: “We genuinely want to help installers help their customers. Providing insight into the detailed government guidelines to make it simple for both the installer and the end customer is something we are well placed to do. There’s a lot of information for businesses to digest to make buildings safe and we hope we have broken it down into a digestible format so people can get started with confidence.”
So for a walkthrough of the basics, we spoke to Gareth O’Hara, Chief Sales Officer at Paxton to see what installers should be doing for their customers over the next few weeks:
What are the basic requirements of the guidelines for businesses?
The main principles are based around facilitating social distancing whenever possible, reducing the possibility of transmission, by limiting the number of people common areas, and to reduce as much as possible, common touch points such as door handles or keypads.
Do all access control systems need to be contactless?
The introduction to all the industry sectors that the government documentation covers stipulates that the employer must look to reduce risk to the ‘lowest reasonably practicable level’ by taking preventative measures, in order of priority.
There is specific reference to employers to look at alternatives to keypads and ‘touch-based’ solutions to mitigate the risk of infection.
Do the guidelines specify the use of thermal cameras?
No, not specifically, the government does not stipulate the mandatory use of thermal scanning. However, when used in combination with access control, the combination of the technology can help contribute to minimising risk and stop the spread of infection.
Read the full article in the July 2020 edition of PSI magazine
